History
With three titles to their name in nine seasons, Sydney Sixers are undoubtedly the most successful team in the Big Bash League, Australia’s premier T20 tournament. The Sixers were host to the very first game of Big Bash League, which resulted in an easy win for them. They also became the first-ever champions of BBL.
Sydney Sixers: Big Bash League Results With Captains
Year | Captain | Result |
2020-21 | Moises Henriques | Champions |
2019-20 | Moises Henriques | Champions |
2018-19 | Moises Henriques | Semi-finals |
2017-18 | Moises Henriques/ Johan Botha | 5th place |
2016-17 | Moises Henriques | Runners-up |
2015-16 | Nic Maddinson | 8th place |
2014-15 | Brad Haddin | Runners-up |
2013-14 | Steve Smith | Semi-finals |
2012-13 | Brad Haddin | 7th place |
2011-12 | Brad Haddin | Champions |
Having won the championship in their first-ever season, Sixers had roped in Indian Premier League-proven Sunil Narine and David Warner in the next season. However, they finished a dismal 7th on the points table. The third season saw Sydney bringing in Steve Smith as the captain amongst other changes, and it almost clinched them the title as they finished in the semis. However, they compensated for the title miss with a win in the now-defunct Champions League Twenty20 tournament.
From 2014 to 2019, Sydney endured a topsy turvy run in the tournament where they performed well at times to land another BBL trophy, but it kept evading them.
Sydney won their second BBL title in the 2019-20 season, under the captaincy of all-rounder Moises Henriques. They followed it up with the second consecutive title last season with the squad looking well-balanced now.
Sydney Sixers Squad for BBL 2021-22
Batsman: Jack Edwards, Daniel Hughes, Jordan Silk, James Vince
Wicket-keeper: Josh Philippe
All-Rounder: Moises Henriques (captain), Hayden Kerr, Daniel Christian, Carlos Brathwaite
Bowler: Steve o’ Keefe, Tom Curran, Sean Abbott. Ben Dwarshuis, Mickey Edwards, Nathan Lyon, Ben Manenti, Lloyd Pope, Jackson Bird, Chris Jordan, Lawrence Neil-Smith, Nick Winter
After a successful BBL season last time, the Sixers have understandably made very few changes to their squad with their business mostly being contract renewals. Right-handed James Vince, however, remains a player to watch out for. Apart from him, Stephen O’ Keefe, Carlos Brathwaite and Jackson Bird has re-signed with the team for the 2021-22 season.
Sydney Sixers Fixtures for BBL 2021-22
Date & Day | Fixture | Venue | Time (IST) |
December 5, 2021, Sunday | Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Stars | Sydney Cricket Ground | 1:15 PM |
December 8, 2021, Wednesday | Hobart Hurricanes vs Sydney Sixers | UTAS Stadium, Tasmania | 1:05 PM |
December 11, 2021, Saturday | Sydney Sixers vs Hobart Hurricanes | Sydney Cricket Ground | 1:05 PM |
December 15, 2021, Wednesday | Melbourne Stars vs Sydney Sixers | Melbourne Cricket Ground | 1:15 PM |
December 21, 2021, Tuesday | Sydney Sixers vs Adelaide Strikers | Sydney Cricket Ground | 1:15 PM |
December 26, Sunday | Sydney Thunder vs Sydney Sixers | Sydney Showground | 12:35 PM |
December 29, 2021, Wednesday | Sydney Sixers vs Brisbane Heat | Sydney Cricket Ground | 12:35 PM |
January 1, 2022, Friday | Sydney Sixers vs Melbourne Renegades | Coffs Harbour Stadium, New South Wales | 2:00 PM |
January 4, 2022, Monday | Brisbane Heat vs Sydney Sixers | Metricon Stadium, Queensland | 1:15 PM |
January 6, 2022, Wednesday | Perth Scorchers vs Sydney Sixers | Optus Stadium, Perth | 3:35 PM |
January 9, 2022, Saturday | Sydney Sixers vs Perth Scorchers | Coffs Harbour Stadium, New South Wales | 1:15 PM |
January 11, 2022, Monday | Melbourne Renegades vs Sydney Sixers | GMHBA Stadium, Victoria | 1:15 PM |
January 15, 2022, Friday | Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder | Sydney Cricket Ground | 2:10 PM |
January 18, 2022, Monday | Adelaide Strikers vs Sydney Strikers | Adelaide Oval | 1:15 PM |
The Numbers That Matter
Batting Stats
Quite unsurprisingly, Moises Henriques has been the highest runscorer for Sydney Sixers with 2135 runs, although the highest score is held by James Vince (98*). Henriques also has the most number of fifties (12) in the entire team. Vince is also the batsman to score the most number of runs in a BBL edition with 537 runs to his name in the last season.
Bowling Stats
Aussie bowler Sean Abbot has taken the most wickets (99) for Sydney Sixers with his best bowling figures reading 4-0-16-5. Abbot also holds the record for having the most four-wicket hauls (3) for Sydney.
Team Stats
Apart from being the only team to have won three BBL titles, the Sixers don’t have any distinctive team record. Their lowest team score has been 74 runs that came against Melbourne Stars, who had given a target of 169 runs. Interestingly, the highest total scored by the Sixers is also against Melbourne Stars, which is 213 runs.
Sydney Sixers: Rivalries
Opponent | Match Played | Won | Lost | Win Percentage (%) |
Sydney Thunder | 19 | 12 | 7 | 0.63% |
Hobart Hurricanes | 15 | 6 | 8 | 0.4% |
Perth Scorchers | 20 | 9 | 11 | 0.45% |
Sydney Thunder
Since Big Bash League’s inception, the Australian Cricket board was clear about keeping two teams in Sydney with the core players from the New South Wales team featuring in them. And like all derbies, Sydney Sixers vs Sydney Thunder – also known as the Sydney Smash – has always been a widely anticipated fixture. However, the rivalry started off in the most one-sided manner possible, with the Sixers winning seven encounters on the trot until January 2015.
Sydney Thunder managed their first-ever BBL derby win in BBL 2015-2016, the season they went on to win the title. Since then, the two teams have won five matches apiece in the 10 encounters.
Hobart Hurricanes
Quite surprisingly, the three-time BBL champions have their worst win percentage rate against Hobart Hurricanes, the team that has not won the BBL title ever. The Sixers average a middling 146 runs against the Hurricanes while batting first and 151.3 while chasing.
Perth Scorchers
The only other team other than Sydney Sixers to win three BBL titles, Perth Scorchers have been a proper rival to the Sydney Sixers. The Scorchers currently lead Sixers 11-9 in head-to-head with the Sydney outfit managing just a 0.45 win percentage against them. The two teams had met each other in two BBL finals, the 2014-15 and 2016-17 edition, with Perth winning both the times.
Road Ahead for the Sixers
Expecting the Sixers to go all the way and win a record fourth BBL title wouldn’t be far-fetched at all. The defending champions have retained the majority of their players from last season to assure there are no loopholes in the squad. Having the trio of James Vince, Josh Philippe and Daniel Hughes in the top order give the team a huge boost, which is further cushioned by the reliable Moises Henriques and Dan Christian. If that isn’t enough, the Sixers have the in-form trio of Sean Abbott, Jackson Bird and Steve O’Keefe with the ball, who jointly accounted for a whopping 30 wickets last season.